Lead

Doosan Bears starter Choi Min-seok has emerged as one of the Korea Baseball Organization’s steadiest young arms in 2026, carrying an 8-2 record and a 2.39 ERA through 15 starts, according to Yonhap News. The right-hander, who turns 20 this week, sits second in the league in ERA and is tied for second in wins. After six shutout innings in a 5-0 victory over the Lotte Giants, Choi told Yonhap he feels ahead of the two-to-three-year development plan he once set for himself.

In separate reporting the same wire service covered the SSG Landers’ 4-2 win over the Doosan Bears on July 7, a result that snapped SSG’s nine-game losing streak behind six scoreless innings from rookie Kim Min-jun.

Coverage Comparison

Yonhap News provided the sole available account of Choi’s season-long progress, framing the story around his rapid ascent from a mid-second-round pick in the 2024 draft to a front-line starter. The same outlet separately detailed the Landers-Bears contest, emphasizing Kim Min-jun’s efficiency and timely hitting by Guillermo Heredia and Choi Jeong. Both dispatches rely on post-game comments from the pitchers themselves and present statistical context without conflicting figures.

Key Claims

  • Choi Min-seok holds an 8-2 record with a 2.39 ERA in 15 starts, as reported by Yonhap News.
  • Choi ranks second overall in ERA and is tied with two others for second in wins, according to Yonhap News.
  • Choi ranks seventh in innings pitched (86 2/3), eighth in strikeouts (80), and sixth in WHIP (1.18), Yonhap News reported.
  • Choi employs a four-pitch mix of two-seam fastball, cutter, slider and forkball, per Yonhap News.
  • Choi is competing with Kia Tigers ace Adam Oller for the KBO leads in wins and ERA, Yonhap News noted.
  • Choi went 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA over 32 innings in June, striking out 28 and walking six, according to Yonhap News.
  • The SSG Landers defeated the Doosan Bears 4-2 to end a nine-game losing streak, Yonhap News reported.
  • Kim Min-jun threw six shutout innings with six strikeouts in that game, matching his career high, as reported by Yonhap News.
  • Guillermo Heredia hit a two-run double and Choi Jeong added a two-run home run (his 19th) in the Landers’ win, according to Yonhap News.
  • Choi Jeong’s homer left him one shy of becoming the first KBO player with at least 20 home runs in 11 straight seasons, Yonhap News stated.
Choi, selected in the middle of the second round in 2024, told Yonhap after his latest win that he had long imagined reaching this level and now feels the results arriving earlier than expected. “I thought I would be able to reach this level in two or three years and I think I am ahead of schedule,” he said. “I always have fun playing baseball regardless, and it is obviously more fun when I am getting good results.”

In the July 7 contest at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, Kim Min-jun held the Bears to four hits while matching his personal best with six strikeouts. Heredia’s two-run double in the sixth broke a scoreless tie against Wes Benjamin, and Choi Jeong’s eighth-inning homer off Lee Yong-chan extended the lead to 4-0. The Bears narrowed the gap to 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth on a Jung Soo-bin solo homer and a Yang Eui-ji sacrifice fly before closer Jo Byeong-hyeon finished a perfect ninth for his 10th save. Kim Min-jun, 20, said he simply wanted to work deep into the game and did not feel added pressure from the team’s recent skid.

Choi’s June dominance, capped by a walk-free outing against Lotte, underscored the consistency that has him challenging for league pitching titles midway through his second professional season.